Millennials changing the way China thinks about money

Shanghai

MA Yiqing, 24, is typical of China's younger generation - he uses his credit card frequently and borrows from online platforms to fund his shopping habits. In a pinch, he is happy to fall back on a lender closer to home - his mum and dad.

Interviews with Mr Ma (a single-child), his mother and grandmother show how rapidly attitudes towards credit are changing as the millennials' generation - roughly those aged between 18 and 35 - embraces debt like never before.

The frugal attitude of previous generations produced the bedrock of China's credit worthiness - household savings equal to some 50 per cent of gross domestic product, one of the highest levels globally. Mr Ma and his cohorts are changing that equation. Their willingness to borrow has driven up household lending - t…